Easy enough to solo, but you only have to die once really.

Pop Mana Shield, run up to the top of the tower, using Cone of Cold and Frost Nova all the while. Die right on the stairs, then run back to your corpse. There's a side of the top level that is empty, rez there, buff, mana up, and get ready. Sheep the gnoll, attack the dogs. Use Cone of Cold before they get to you, then use Frost Nova if you need to (I was a Frost Mage, so they got stuck on the CoC). Take them down from there. The secret to this fight is using everything you've got. Keep the other guy sheeped, and use Couterspell on the dogs when they use Mana Drain.

I got done with the two dogs just a couple of seconds after the gnoll unsheeped. I shielded, sheeped the gnoll again, and killed the last dog (remember to use Blizzard here, it works). After the dogs are down, it's very easy. Use Evocation while the gnoll is sheeped, and then start off with a Pyro or Fireball then following it up with a Fireblast, and a Counterspell when he starts casting. Then Frost Nova, and it's over for him.

Not sure what all the fuss was about.. read up on the quest here, and thought it would be difficult to figure out. 28 Fire Mage, most gear still from pre and early 20s. Got to the top of the ramp and saw them - no aggro yet, so.. I opened with Pyroblast on a dog, followed with Fireball, then Fire Blast and my wand to kill it. Sheeped gnoll. Killed other dog with Fire Blast and Scorch. Pyroblasted the sheep, fireball, fire blast, wand. All 3 dead - no pots, no shield, no mana agate, no evocation needed.. it did take me down to about 10% health and mana, but that could be easily overcome by using any of the aforementioned resources.

(tip: do it only at 28-9 then your not dieing).thats what i did, without dieing runing away or something: without any tricks, you just go in and kill mobs in the way, when your getting to the top floor, you sheep the gnoll and kill the 2 dogs, the kill the sheeped gnoll without pull any others, then taking the book. if you did it slow and some have respawnd, you just get mana+hp full, cast mana shield and run out.

If you manage to kill the mobs and get the book, why let yourself die? You're a Mage, just teleport back to Stormwind (tip: bring a rune)! Turn in the quest right around the corner and that's that. No res sickness. No broken gear. No having to fly back.

I did this as a lvl 26 fire mage. When you go up to the entrance, kill the first few gnolls, then once you get inside, kill the first dog, then just run up to the top. Use frost nova and cone of cold. When you get to the top, get as close as you can to the one empty side. Then let them kill you. When you run back up, make sure you rez by the chairs on the EMPTY SIDE. Then, this is what I did. I flame blasted the gnoll, then when the dogs came over, I frost noved them. Then I ran over to the bookcase, sheeped the gnoll, and got the book. Then I let them kill me. It didn't matter, cause I had the book. Then just spirit heal and turn in the quest.

Quest is still obtainable from Andromath in 4.0.3a but can't be completed. It will disappear from your quest list if you log and Andromath will continue to offer it.

Funny how this quest is still available in game. However, when you log out or dc the quest disappears from your log...

It says the quest is no longer available within the game yet the quest keeps showing up for me to take over & over again even though I have already taken the quest. I go to the door of the tower & I have to have a key to get in. I looked up the quest to get the key & it says under the 4.0.3 patch there should be an NPC that starts a questline that would give me the key at the Eastern flypoint in Redridge but there is not an NPC there by the name it gives or any quests.

Hotfix:

""High Sorcerer Andromath is no longer offering the deprecated quest ""Ur's Treatise on Shadow Magic"" in Redridge Mountains.""